Adalgisa Giani

Adalgisa Giana (June 27, 1888, in Lasnigo, Como Province – February 25, 1970 in Lasnigo) was an Italian operatic soprano.

Adalgisa Giana began her career in the United States, appearing in San Francisco in 1907 with the Milan Opera Company and in New Orleans in 1911 as a member of Lambardi Opera Company. From 1912 she managed her career in Italy, where she worked as a touring singer in minor opera houses, including the Teatro della Pergola in Florence and the Teatro Carcano in Milan. In 1918 Giana was engaged for the season at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, where she sang a few roles, including Mallika in Leo Delibes's Lakmé, Principessa Elisa in Umberto Giordano's opera Madame Sans-Gêne and, notably, Musetta in Puccini's La bohème opposite Beniamino Gigli and Claudia Muzio under the direction of Tullio Serafin. She later returned to this theatre in 1926, performing several parts in contemporary operas, Zaubermädchen in Richard Wagner’s Parsifal and, notably, the Golden Cockerel in the local premiere of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera of the same title (with Ninon Vallin as Tsaritsa of Shemakha). She probably finished her stage career in the early 1930s.

Adalgisa Giana was particularly associated with the role of Musetta in La bohème and notably sang this part in the first world complete recording of the opera (made in 1918 in Milan by La voce del padrone with Remo Andreini as Rodolfo and Gemma Bosini as Mimì, with the orchestra and chorus of the Teatro alla Scala under the direction of Carlo Sabajno). Giana's other roles on stage included Nedda in Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Oscar in Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera and Walter in Alfredo Catalani's La Wally.

Birth and Death Data: Born June 27, 1885 (Lasnigo), Died February 25, 1970 (Lasnigo)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1917

Roles Represented in DAHR: soprano vocal

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Gramophone 3106c 12-in. 2/12/1917 Quando m'en vo' soletta per la via Gemma Bosini Soprano vocal solo, with vocal ensemble and orchestra vocalist, soprano vocal  
Gramophone 3108c 12-in. 2/12/1917 Oh, Marcello, Sirena Reno Andreini ; Ernesto Badini ; Aristide Baracchi ; Vincenzo Bettoni ; Gemma Bosini ; Adalgisa Giani Vocal ensemble, with orchestra vocalist, soprano vocal  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Giani, Adalgisa," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/317621.

Giani, Adalgisa. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/317621.

"Giani, Adalgisa." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/317621

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.